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I don't update it very often, but if you check back every now and then you might see it updated.\n\n[url=https://inkbunny.net/submissionsviewall.php?rid=c6a9fd4348&mode=pool&pool_id=59838&page=1&orderby=pool_order&random=no&success=]Also, obligatory link to the comic itself to which this is a fanfiction of.[/url]", "description_bbcode_parsed": "------

A short little debriefing chapter before we swing back to Sandstone for a bit...

The rest of Part 13 can be found here. I don't update it very often, but if you check back every now and then you might see it updated.

Also, obligatory link to the comic itself to which this is a fanfiction of.", "writing": "[t][b]Act 83: A Black Debriefing[/b][/t]\n\nPerhaps when they were to get to Black Isle their questions would be answered, if these Novels are from the same world where those humans came from, then it's certain that they could provide information on that.\nAfter a quick flight, they were over Black Isle, they beamed down and made their way to the control room where their debriefing would take place, and where they would inform the ones in charge of what they found.\nRanala looks slightly troubled at the knowledge they brought about the extent of the Novel's reach. \"These...'Novels' have roots in two other regions too? Curses...\"\nRelaka nods. \"The Grove Territory is still very tumultuous, this is likely to make things even worse there. The Lands of Snow are peaceful...relatively speaking, it's dealing with some sort of plague and the Novel presence might cause even more casualties if left unchecked...\"\n\n\"So many questions, so little answers,\" Eilumi sighs. \"Like what exactly were those 'MewZorDin' and 'Depresso' things? Were they a new type of mon or something else entirely? And why did our pokedexes malfunction when we tried to scan them? What exactly is this 'Arcon' and what does '100 live sacrifices' entail? And from where? Why are they so intent on doing what they're doing? Are they involved with the Miniknog in any way? I presume not, as we saw no evidence of them there. And what was with the Novakid?\"\n\n\"Perhaps our human allies would have the answer to most of those questions. We have been trying to question them about what you saw on your previous mission but they are being surprisingly...uncooperative all of the sudden on the subject.\" Ranala sighs. \"This is slightly strange as they behaved like this, but we are going to demand they answer our questions already. If you plan to go ask them about the problems with the 'pokedex' app, do let them know that we really need to know who these 'Novel' are.\"\nAnd then Relaka speaks up next. \"As for Staedust...we know of him, he is mercenary. He's also wanted in various parts of Avali Illuminate space for causing all sorts of problems. One thing is for sure, he is not on our side, and if he has been on this planet doing scouting it is certainly on someone else's behest...someone who opposes us. Miniknog.\"\nThe other Avali looks at her packmate with a serious look. \"You don't mean...\"\n\"The Ministry of Knowledge? Yes, that's exactly what I mean.\"\n\nLeaving this part of the Black Isle, the Ghost Bear Pack makes their way to the section of the base that was given to the humans to be their private little space to work on things to help the Avali better understand this planet and everything they might find 'alien' about it.\nBack in the control room, a protogen approaches the two Avali females. \"Excuse me, misses...there is something odd going on. Our orbital cameras are showing that one of the islands is moving strangely.\"\nThey don't seem to think that is too unusual, all of the Islands in the Oracle Sea seem to do that...with the exception of Anchor. Renala shrugs before responding to him. \"They do that all the time here, don't they?\"\n\"I mean...it's moving away from the Oracle Sea, miss.\"\nThat...is indeed very odd now. Relaka raises a brow and decides to have a look at that. \"What...? What do you mean moving it away? Put it on screen.\" The three of them watched as the Novel island looked like it was indeed moving but...it was moving away from the Oracle Sea...\nGoing several floors deep into the Black Isle, the Ghost Bear pack arrives at the entrance of the section of the base where the humans supposedly are, which is a white metalic door being guarded by what looks like two bipedal robots that are colored mostly white, with some green and glowing magenta parts. They also seem to have large blades protruding from the sides of their gauntlets, which also have that magenta glow to them.\nShia wonders what kind of machines these are, they are obviously not Illuminate-made, and they are standing so still he wonders if they are active or something. He decided to lean in to have a closer look at it, but quickly pulled his own head back when the machine turned its head to face him.\n\n\"I have so many questions right now.\" Eilumi comments.\n\"You aren't the only one.\" Loona replies.\n\"That's funny because I was just going to ask you-\"\n\"Don't look at me, I have absolutely no idea.\" Loona replies back.\n\nThe Luxray remains standing in front of one of the machines guarding the door before trying to make a request to it. \"We came here to speak with the humans, can we please come through through?\"\n\"Certainly.\" One of them said, sounding surprisingly less robotic than expected, before both stepped aside and the door slid open for them to come through.\nShia covers his eyes, there is...a lot of light coming from in there, but he moves in there to search for who he is looking for. Doesn't take long for him to find who he was looking for...and among other things.\nThere is a lot going on here, there mechanical things in various stages of being build, assorted items from mystery dungeon being hauled in boxes, minerals being processed...there is even something that looks like an altar with a shiny metallic ball on top. The number of humans in here can be count with one hand, the rest of others here seem to be more of those robotic pokémon and Pokémon that have a strange glow to them...and lifeless eyes.\nVeera and Shia looked around at everything around them, still waiting for their eyes to adjust to the ambient light level. When a human came walking by they were quick to get in his way before he just walked past them.\n\"I'm sorry but can you wait for a moment?\" Veera asks as she holds a hand in front of the man in front of her.\nDespite how he seemed to be in a hurry, Mason stops to respond to them. \"Yes, what is it?\"\n\n\"...'This weird' faction. I take it you mean you must have met those ninjas? There are plenty of things that fit that description out there, you gonna have to be more specific.\" The human said all matter-of-factly. \"...You broke the app already? It was about for less than a week.\"\nShia just rolls his eyes at his attitude. \"Alright, listen. We fought these guys calling themselves 'Novels', they had clones and these weird 'fungus people', they are currently supporting the pirates by giving them weapons and there are these 'Archons' which we don't know what that is.\"\n\"So...an Archon.....Ancestors preserve us.\" The man sighs and shakes his head. \"...Alright, i will tell you if i really must...the Novel are not to be talked about so openly amongst my people, they are betrayers who threw away their humanity and turned their back on their purpose.\"\nThe electric type raises a brow. \"Really? So they are a splitter faction? How did that happen?\"\nMason just narrows his eyes. \"I do not know. I have no idea what would possess someone to do such a thing. But they are humans and pokémon who have forsaken morality and reason in blind pursuit of their desires...they dabble in forbidden sciences, unethical experimentation and worship things that are best unheard of and forgotten. They and everything they create is a cancer that will propagate if allowed to fester.\"\n\n\"Sounds like the Occassus if they were given the Miniknog's technology.\" Khaun comments.\n\"Alright, so these... 'pokemon' we saw on the island.\" Eilumi reaches into his trenchcoat and pulls out a few photos. \"I managed to grab a few photos of them. Though one I only saw on a computer screen so that's why those are poor quality. When we tried to identify this pink cat thing, it bugged out on us. It kept trying to identify it as a Mew, then a Zorua which I know darn well it's not since I have seen a couple of those back in Sandstone. Then as an.. 'Ardino'? Never saw that one. Then when it couldn't decide it just kept cycling between them so we just kinda called it a 'MewZorDin'. Though I'm almost certain that's not what it's called.\"\n\"The other thing we only saw on a screen. We didnt' get to see them in person.\" Loona points to the other photograph, the one with the dull blue coat. \"This one however we have a name for. The Novel guys called it a 'Depresso'.\"\n\"They don't seem sentient, as we heard neither one speaking words of any kind. Though they do seem capable of basic tasks. The pink cat thing was attacking us with a mounted machine gun when we took it down. There was another one there too but it ran off when its mounted gun was destroyed.\"\n\nMason stares at the images being presented to him, really looking like he is trying to identify what he is looking at and failing much like that app that was made for them. \"That's....highly unusual. If they were new pokémon to be discovered the app would not react like this at all. I will...i will require some time to analyze this later. What else is there to ask?\"\n\"And the clones, the cyborg bears and the fungus people?\" Shia would like an explanation for those too.\n\"Right...the clones...and by extension those 'Cyborgs' you saw. We used cloning technology for medical purposes, making replacement limbs, organs and the such...much like you do. However there is a rule: It is prohibited to fully clone an entire living being. Which is something that can happen if one isn't careful with the cloning drought. The clones you saw weren't exactly healthy, were they? It is because they are made quickly and masse and usually won't live for very long unless some of their vital organs are replaced with cybernetics.\"\n\"And the fungus-people?\"\n\"Ah yes, the Sporekin. They were being developed as an experiment to be an 'easy to grow' army should we ever need it. For what it's worth it was impressive, they can not only grow from the very earth but their knowledge is genetically hardwired into their very cellular make up, so they already have basic knowledge of how to function, their absolute loyalty to the Novel is also similarly genetically hardwired.\"\nShia raises a brow at that. \"How is it that they are being used by the Novels and not you then?\"\n\"The usage of human DNA to make them was very controversial to say the least. Despite their numbers, they are physically weak and are not resource efficient with their high numbers. Their lack of quality and too much quantity resulted in another project being greenlit instead, one to mass produce human-like robots that would be less resource intensive in the long run and easier to keep stored for when they are needed.\"\n\n\"Well, on the plus side, it appears the Miniknog or whoever else is none too friendly with these 'Novel' guys either. They sent a mercenary to disrupt their operations, or at least we think it was them.\" Eilumi comments.\n\"Also one more note about that cat thing.\" Khaun adds in quick. \"It seemed unusually resistant to gunfire. Not immune, obviously, but resistant. I wonder if they have similar resistances to the IRON found here?\"\n\n\"Has anyone ever managed to figure out the discrepancy with Pokémon powers and it's discrepancies?\" Veera asks while they are on the topic.\n\"I take it that you must have abandoned using them altogether if you deem it underpowered like that.\" Mason says.\n\"Shooting most things gets the job done just fine really.\" Shia says with a shrug.\n\"Well, to answer your question...i can't say for sure what these creatures would be resistant to or vulnerable to. But if you are wondering about how only Iron created the current status quo when there are far more destructive things like fire breath or even Hyper Beam, it's that there is something that prevents Pokémon powers from inherently being lethal to pokémon, it is obvious enough considering that the same being applied to an Avali will almost certainly result in severe life-threatening bodily harm but to an Pokémon at worse they will faint. Furthermore, the Illuminati would rather we not go out of our way to test the full extend of this.\" He explains to them. \"I do have some theories on what exactly might be the cause of this. But whenever we tried to go on about it Relaka and Renala just look at us like we are crazy.\"\nThe Luxray crosses his arms and raises a brow. \"Eh? Why...? You people seem like you really know your stuff, why would they think that?\"\nThe human just looks at him like he is not expecting Shia to react much differently to what he is about to say. \"So the most credible theory is that the gods made it so Pokémon could not kill each other. However, Iron is not made by the gods. Sure...iron ore is a basic thing, but the process to forge it into a weapon seems to process it into something that is no longer bound to the rules set by the gods.\"\n...Yeah Shia is staring at him like he thinks he is talking crazy alright. As soon as the man mentioned 'gods' the Luxray was more than skeptical about the rest of the theory he was presenting. \"...Alright, yeah it does sound a bit hard to believe.\"\nVeera seems just as doubtful about this explanation.\n\nAs does the rest of the pack. The only things they'd encountered on their travels that come even close to 'gods' were things that really had no business being worshiped as such. Or turned out to be complete Mooshishit. Usually the latter.\n\nThe man just inhales and exhales, it's clear that he can understand from their expression alone that they won't believe his words and there is really nothing he can do to convince them. \"...For the sake the Illuminate's interest in this world, i hope they know what to do when nature itself takes notice.\" He said, ominously.\nSpark meanwhile, decided to go check out something else while the pack is talking. Currently he is trying to fiddle with what he thinks is a vending machine there against the wall, pressing buttons and looking at an holographic display showing items such as snacks and candies. Every time he tries to press a button though there is just a red flash of light which he most certainly means he is not getting the results he wants. \"...Hey, does this take pixels? Dazzling range of goods though! How do you fit food, drinks, medicine and weapons in this though?\"\nMason walks over to him and crosses his arms. \"...No, I'm afraid it's not set to accept your currency.\"\nThe Raichu expected this, but is still slightly disappointed. \"...Can you get me something tasty from this?\"\n\"...Fine.\" As blasé as he is about it the human decides to be kind enough and inserts 5 chips into the vending machine, makes a selection and presses a button. After some humming the vending machine drops out a box of potato crisps.\n\"Sweet!\" The electric type happily picks it up, opens it and eats one of the chipped potato goodness. \"Mmmm nice! How do you say this thing works again? It got quite a selection of goods for sale on this thing.\"\n\"It has a self-contained matter transformation device.\"\n\"Oh Cool, cool!\" The human said that so casually that Spark almost glanced over the fact that this vending machine is essentially like a Pixel Printer? \"Wait...what?\"\n\n\"So basically it's a pixel printer but for food?\" Khaun questions. \"Huh. Usually they just print furniture and stuff.\"\n\nThis makes Spark have a burning question if these humans have such a tech level yet still remain only in their planet of origin. \"How are you not a space-faring civilization yet?\"\n\"That's for the Forefather to decide when to take that step. We follow his design.\"\nShia tilts his head a bit. \"Your leader I assume? Also there is one more thing I should tell you, the Novel are planning to attack the Black Isle...\"\n\"What?!\" Instead of looking bored this time, Mason looks surprised...then angry. \"And you didn't think of telling me this when you got here?\"\nHe is slightly taken aback at how the man went from calm to angry with him so quickly. \"What? They won't catch us by surprise or anything. We know they are coming so I bet they if they try coming by sea or by air the Black Isle has more than enough defenses to deal with it either way they try to come at it.\"\n\"That is because you assume they will come by sea or by air.\"\nThe Ghost Bear Pack's electric trio is still unsure what he means by this and Shia is frankly starting to get slightly annoyed with the human getting paranoid all of the sudden. \"...Then? It's not like they could sidestep the Black Isle's defenses altogether right?\"\n\n\"To be honest, we didn't get a good read on their plan. They were arming some sort of ship, but I think that was going to Amber.\" Khaun explains. \"Speaking of, it would appear as if they're going to try a diversionary technique, hoping to bait us into over defending Amber while leaving Black Isle vulnerable.\"\n\n\"Eerrm...that still does not put my at easy.\"\nShia shrugs. \"I don't blame you, but the whole Black Isle is on high alert. don't think we would get caught with our pants down now, i can promise you that.\"\n\"Hhrrm...Right then.\" Mason still sounds unsure about that, but only time will tell if he is properly paranoid or not. \"One last thing since we are going to be getting more...involved on count of the Novel anyways, i need you to tell me this. Are you the best that the Illuminate got?\"\nSpark bites on another potato crisp before responding a little awkwardly. \"I mean...we are a bit famous as far as i know, but the best in the Illuminate? Thaaat's probably a pretty bold claim to go and make. But i'm gonna wager that we are the best pack in this side of the fringe.\" He looks to the others. \"Right guys? Why are you asking this out of the blue anyways?\"\n\"Because I am to authorize you to make use of some of our new support tools. Air support, artillery support, support weapons and some equipment requisition. Such things are only allowed to be used by those who we know will make efficient use of it.\"\n\n\"Oh dear. It almost sounds like we got ourselves into a war.\" Eilumi comments. \"We haven't had that kind of support since the Occassus Wars.\"\n\n\"Yeah, that sounds like some pretty big deal. Stuff like this is very expensive too...so who's paying for it?\" Shia asks as such a big support sounds too good to be true, wonders if there are some strings attached.\n\"We got a delivery system that we think should make things easier, but such a thing has it's costs, yeah. But it is being paid by someone else, one of our own who was here before we were, the first one of us to be here you can say...\"\nThis got the electric-type thinking a little bit. The first one of them that was here? Is he talking about Joshua? \"Any chance we could talk with this person sometime...?\"\n\"At the moment, no, he is busy securing favors to keep our support for you as strong as steady as we having it be right now. But he is on this world currently, somewhere.\" Mason said before snapping his fingers and gesturing one of these nearby Pokémon to come over, it's a Gardevoir, she brings over a disc to him.\nImage\nSpark watches as she...at least he thinks that mon' is a she, silently comes over and goes away just like that. It's kind of unsettling. \"What is up with them? Why are they so...glowy and stuff?\" ...No way those are holograms, are they? That one was solid enough to hold something in their hand.\n\"Usually they are more talkative and responsive, but right now we don't have the computing power present here to have the luxury of having them working consistently beyond the bare essentials.\" Mason explains. \"They are simply constructs, nothing much.\"\n\"A-as in, they are holograms?\" Veera asks as she looks at these 'constructs.'\n\"Yes, they are.\" He motions up to the bright 'lights' on the ceiling. \"See those? It's what's providing them with what they need to project themselves in this room.\" He sounds ever so slightly annoyed that they took him away from the topic he was previously on. \"Now, as a show of things to come, I shall give you a 'weapon', for Pokémon. It's something a little heavy so I would advise some discipline using it and the destructive potential it has...\" And with that he hands the disc over to Shia.\nHe takes it and looks it over, it says 'TM163'. \"Ah, so it's like, data to make a weapon huh? I'm not sure if we have anything that uses these, disc things like this are extremely outdated, you know?\"\n\"No, it doesn't work like that. This will teach you how to harness new power. Don't insert it into anything, it could damage it.\"\nThat is...a bit confusing. What is he supposed to do? read' this compact disc? \"What...?\"\n\nNeedless to say, Eilumi and the rest are just as lost as Shia is. Nine was going to volunteer to 'read' it but Mason's instruction not to shut that suggestion down before he even got the chance to suggest it.\n\nWith an annoyed sigh, Shia stares at the disc in his hand palm wondering what he is supposed to do with it to use it in any form. But the more he stared...the more he noticed something, so he brought it closer to his vision while narrowing his eyes. They scan along the surface of the disk like he is indeed reading something on it. \"Wait...i think i got it.\" Then, the disk cracks in his hands for apparently no reason, surprising the Luxray. He looks to Mason and holds up the now-damaged item. \"I didn't break it! It just cracked on its own, I swear!\"\nThe human doesn't look all that bothered by it though, he simply nods. \"Yes, it is single use, for safety reasons...\"\nSo, he used it? Thinking about it, Shia does sense something different about himself, like he knows something new now, something quite potent. \"It felt odd, like something was being put in my mind. That's how this works? Transferring whatever was in this into my head?\"\n\"Essentially. You should now be able to use Hyper Beam. I know you prefer your guns rather than your abilities as a Pokémon, but I'm sure that the power you just learned will help you. If you do wish to try it out in doors, there is the range...i had one of our engineers make the walls there stronger in preparation for something like this.\" He crosses his arms. \"Now if that will be all, I need to anticipate how Novel will strike, try to locate possible vulnerabilities in the Black Isle...\"\nShia sighs. \"Alright I guess...\" Then he turns to the others. \"So I suppose it's worth trying out this Hyper Beam thing while we are still here. Should we go to the range?\"\n\n\"Yeah, definitely,\" Khaun replies.\n\"I'm curious to see this hyper beam stuff in action myself.\" Eilumi also replies.\n\"I've heard of it, but never seen one.\" Loona says too. \"I'd definitely like to see.\"\n\nJust as they leave the room, they come across Renala who seemed to be going where they just left, she takes the time to talk with them. \"Pardon but...you have not forgotten to report anything from your last mission, have you?\"\nSome amongst the pack are confused at this question, Veera decides to ask about it. \"No...? I do believe we left nothing out of it. Why, what happened?\"\n\"Well, something...overseen just happened then. The movement of a pirate fleet towards Anchorn was to be expected, the Novel's island moving not so much...the fact that it isn't part of the archipelago and instead is the shell of a gigantic sea creature was even more unexpected.\" She explained to them,\nSo the info certainly came as a surprise. \"Wait...what?\" Spark asked again.\n\"I know, I can hardly believe it as well but it would appear that the Novel's base is located on top of the shell of a turtle-like creature. As soon as it began moving unusually we sent some scout drones to follow its movements underwater and that's when we noticed that it was no mere island. I must consult with the humans if Pokémon can indeed get that large...\"\n\nIt certainly didn't feel like they were on a creature when they fought on it. It felt as sandy and normal as any other beach....\n\n\"We had no idea that 'island' was that. It really felt like just another island to us...\" Veera says to the Avali.\n\"I see. You don't need to worry about me not trusting you, a pack of your reputation inherent trust. The enemy is just a tricky one.\" Renala shrugs. \"The Pirate fleet's movement is slow, we suspect that their new hardware is making their vessels heavier. So we got leeway to work with. If something else happens I will let you know.\" She politely excuses herself and walks past them to go into the room they just went out of.\nWith that, the Ghost Bear Pack are free to move again, so they continue on their way to the firing range on a floor just above the one they are right now. Arriving there they are greeted with a wide space with firing lanes with holographic targets, the sound of weapons fire is audible but in here it's nothing really unusual as they aren't the only ones here with the intent of using this facility.\nShia approaches one of firing lanes, looking at the holographic target and the big, reinforced wall behind it to prevent projectiles from overpenetration and causing any unnecessary damages. \"Okay...Hyper Beam huh?\" This might be the one time he can say that he is using a firing range without a firearm. \"Alright, let me see how I'm gonna do this. He told me to be careful with this after all.\" He breathes and starts cupping his paws together.\nSpark snickers slightly as he watches the Luxray's stance, with his legs slightly spread and his paws together like that, like he is trying to perform some sort of cheesy martial art thing.\n\nThe rest of the pack watches in anticipation of the Luxray in front of them, and the move he will perform. Will this move live up to the hype that these humans build up for it? Or will it simply be a wet fart? Only the upcoming demonstration will tell them.\n\nShia begins building up power between his paws, forming what looks like a ball of white energy between them. Though he did not expect how it would build up so much power so fast, as it grows pretty quickly and he feels like he is having trouble keeping all that energy together as his arms tremble. \"F-Fuck...!\" For a lack of better words it feels like he is holding an explosion in his paws and trying to keep it all contained in a single point, and if he doesn't do anything with it it might actually explode on him. Everyone around him was watching what was going on in concern, some of the others in the firing range besides the Ghost Bears stopped what they were doing when they felt a sensation in the air that was like an engine running.\n...Shia really really hopes that the reinforced wall can take this. He launches the attack forward, energy shooting ahead of him as a large white beam not unlike something fired out of a laser cannon. If the holographic target down could think it would probably be happy it was intangible, for the reinforced wall behind it almost wasn't able to handle the sheer impact and resulting explosion that shook the whole room. The Luxray stood there in awe, everyone else present that witnessed certainly was too. Then he felt his body starting to give up on him all of the sudden, it's like a sudden wave of tiredness that takes over him and before he realizes Shia falls to his knees.\n\nEveryone else was struck in sure awe at what had just unfolded. The two avali blinked, almost unable to process what they had just witnessed: their luxray partner shooting out a beam the size of something typically found on medium-large space vessels.\nWhen Shia collapsed to his knees, Loona was the one to run to his side and hug him.\n\"Woah Shia!\" She shouted. \"You alright?!\"\n\nShia tries to stand but his body isn't responding, but he doesn't feel pain or anything of the sort, just overwhelmingly lethargic. \"My body feels so heavy...urgh...\" Shia grumbles as he tries to get his legs moving again, but they don't feel like they support their weight.\nVeera also comes over, just as worried. \"Are you feeling anything wrong...?!\" She gets under his shoulder and helps him up.\nAnd this sort of works as he gets back up on his feet with her help, and steadily he feels his strength returning to him. \"Oooh, okay i think i can move, Veera, let go please?\" He stumbles to the side a bit as he regains his footing. \"Okay...\"\nSpark meanwhile looks over at the damage that the Hyper Beam caused to the wall, It sure looked like Shia shot it with something a medium-sized vessel would have. \"Holy shit...that guy really wasn't kidding! It's like you have a laser Bazooka on your hands!\" He is just as impressed...and glad that wall held as well as it did too. Perhaps it would be better NOT to test a second shot with it though, he isn't sure if it can take anymore.\n[b]Elsewhere on the Black Isle...[/b]\nIn the command center some of the other authority figures were watching what was going on the cameras, they all had eyes on the firing range as they were promised that they were about to see something awesome...and they got to witness the power of the hyper beam first hand. Behind all of Avali watching the display of power on screen is a Pokémon, humanoid in stature, with a body that resembles a white flowing gown. Gardervoir calmly speaks after she sees that everyone had enough time to process what they just saw. \"With that demonstration out of the way, surely you now see more potential and importance in what Pokémon can do, right? There is so much more. So, how about we start talking about some contracts to help you more easily integrate pokémon and their capabilities into your ranks?\"", "writing_bbcode_parsed": "Act 83: A Black Debriefing

Perhaps when they were to get to Black Isle their questions would be answered, if these Novels are from the same world where those humans came from, then it's certain that they could provide information on that.
After a quick flight, they were over Black Isle, they beamed down and made their way to the control room where their debriefing would take place, and where they would inform the ones in charge of what they found.
Ranala looks slightly troubled at the knowledge they brought about the extent of the Novel's reach. "These...'Novels' have roots in two other regions too? Curses..."
Relaka nods. "The Grove Territory is still very tumultuous, this is likely to make things even worse there. The Lands of Snow are peaceful...relatively speaking, it's dealing with some sort of plague and the Novel presence might cause even more casualties if left unchecked..."

"So many questions, so little answers," Eilumi sighs. "Like what exactly were those 'MewZorDin' and 'Depresso' things? Were they a new type of mon or something else entirely? And why did our pokedexes malfunction when we tried to scan them? What exactly is this 'Arcon' and what does '100 live sacrifices' entail? And from where? Why are they so intent on doing what they're doing? Are they involved with the Miniknog in any way? I presume not, as we saw no evidence of them there. And what was with the Novakid?"

"Perhaps our human allies would have the answer to most of those questions. We have been trying to question them about what you saw on your previous mission but they are being surprisingly...uncooperative all of the sudden on the subject." Ranala sighs. "This is slightly strange as they behaved like this, but we are going to demand they answer our questions already. If you plan to go ask them about the problems with the 'pokedex' app, do let them know that we really need to know who these 'Novel' are."
And then Relaka speaks up next. "As for Staedust...we know of him, he is mercenary. He's also wanted in various parts of Avali Illuminate space for causing all sorts of problems. One thing is for sure, he is not on our side, and if he has been on this planet doing scouting it is certainly on someone else's behest...someone who opposes us. Miniknog."
The other Avali looks at her packmate with a serious look. "You don't mean..."
"The Ministry of Knowledge? Yes, that's exactly what I mean."

Leaving this part of the Black Isle, the Ghost Bear Pack makes their way to the section of the base that was given to the humans to be their private little space to work on things to help the Avali better understand this planet and everything they might find 'alien' about it.
Back in the control room, a protogen approaches the two Avali females. "Excuse me, misses...there is something odd going on. Our orbital cameras are showing that one of the islands is moving strangely."
They don't seem to think that is too unusual, all of the Islands in the Oracle Sea seem to do that...with the exception of Anchor. Renala shrugs before responding to him. "They do that all the time here, don't they?"
"I mean...it's moving away from the Oracle Sea, miss."
That...is indeed very odd now. Relaka raises a brow and decides to have a look at that. "What...? What do you mean moving it away? Put it on screen." The three of them watched as the Novel island looked like it was indeed moving but...it was moving away from the Oracle Sea...
Going several floors deep into the Black Isle, the Ghost Bear pack arrives at the entrance of the section of the base where the humans supposedly are, which is a white metalic door being guarded by what looks like two bipedal robots that are colored mostly white, with some green and glowing magenta parts. They also seem to have large blades protruding from the sides of their gauntlets, which also have that magenta glow to them.
Shia wonders what kind of machines these are, they are obviously not Illuminate-made, and they are standing so still he wonders if they are active or something. He decided to lean in to have a closer look at it, but quickly pulled his own head back when the machine turned its head to face him.

"I have so many questions right now." Eilumi comments.
"You aren't the only one." Loona replies.
"That's funny because I was just going to ask you-"
"Don't look at me, I have absolutely no idea." Loona replies back.

The Luxray remains standing in front of one of the machines guarding the door before trying to make a request to it. "We came here to speak with the humans, can we please come through through?"
"Certainly." One of them said, sounding surprisingly less robotic than expected, before both stepped aside and the door slid open for them to come through.
Shia covers his eyes, there is...a lot of light coming from in there, but he moves in there to search for who he is looking for. Doesn't take long for him to find who he was looking for...and among other things.
There is a lot going on here, there mechanical things in various stages of being build, assorted items from mystery dungeon being hauled in boxes, minerals being processed...there is even something that looks like an altar with a shiny metallic ball on top. The number of humans in here can be count with one hand, the rest of others here seem to be more of those robotic pokémon and Pokémon that have a strange glow to them...and lifeless eyes.
Veera and Shia looked around at everything around them, still waiting for their eyes to adjust to the ambient light level. When a human came walking by they were quick to get in his way before he just walked past them.
"I'm sorry but can you wait for a moment?" Veera asks as she holds a hand in front of the man in front of her.
Despite how he seemed to be in a hurry, Mason stops to respond to them. "Yes, what is it?"

"...'This weird' faction. I take it you mean you must have met those ninjas? There are plenty of things that fit that description out there, you gonna have to be more specific." The human said all matter-of-factly. "...You broke the app already? It was about for less than a week."
Shia just rolls his eyes at his attitude. "Alright, listen. We fought these guys calling themselves 'Novels', they had clones and these weird 'fungus people', they are currently supporting the pirates by giving them weapons and there are these 'Archons' which we don't know what that is."
"So...an Archon.....Ancestors preserve us." The man sighs and shakes his head. "...Alright, i will tell you if i really must...the Novel are not to be talked about so openly amongst my people, they are betrayers who threw away their humanity and turned their back on their purpose."
The electric type raises a brow. "Really? So they are a splitter faction? How did that happen?"
Mason just narrows his eyes. "I do not know. I have no idea what would possess someone to do such a thing. But they are humans and pokémon who have forsaken morality and reason in blind pursuit of their desires...they dabble in forbidden sciences, unethical experimentation and worship things that are best unheard of and forgotten. They and everything they create is a cancer that will propagate if allowed to fester."

"Sounds like the Occassus if they were given the Miniknog's technology." Khaun comments.
"Alright, so these... 'pokemon' we saw on the island." Eilumi reaches into his trenchcoat and pulls out a few photos. "I managed to grab a few photos of them. Though one I only saw on a computer screen so that's why those are poor quality. When we tried to identify this pink cat thing, it bugged out on us. It kept trying to identify it as a Mew, then a Zorua which I know darn well it's not since I have seen a couple of those back in Sandstone. Then as an.. 'Ardino'? Never saw that one. Then when it couldn't decide it just kept cycling between them so we just kinda called it a 'MewZorDin'. Though I'm almost certain that's not what it's called."
"The other thing we only saw on a screen. We didnt' get to see them in person." Loona points to the other photograph, the one with the dull blue coat. "This one however we have a name for. The Novel guys called it a 'Depresso'."
"They don't seem sentient, as we heard neither one speaking words of any kind. Though they do seem capable of basic tasks. The pink cat thing was attacking us with a mounted machine gun when we took it down. There was another one there too but it ran off when its mounted gun was destroyed."

Mason stares at the images being presented to him, really looking like he is trying to identify what he is looking at and failing much like that app that was made for them. "That's....highly unusual. If they were new pokémon to be discovered the app would not react like this at all. I will...i will require some time to analyze this later. What else is there to ask?"
"And the clones, the cyborg bears and the fungus people?" Shia would like an explanation for those too.
"Right...the clones...and by extension those 'Cyborgs' you saw. We used cloning technology for medical purposes, making replacement limbs, organs and the such...much like you do. However there is a rule: It is prohibited to fully clone an entire living being. Which is something that can happen if one isn't careful with the cloning drought. The clones you saw weren't exactly healthy, were they? It is because they are made quickly and masse and usually won't live for very long unless some of their vital organs are replaced with cybernetics."
"And the fungus-people?"
"Ah yes, the Sporekin. They were being developed as an experiment to be an 'easy to grow' army should we ever need it. For what it's worth it was impressive, they can not only grow from the very earth but their knowledge is genetically hardwired into their very cellular make up, so they already have basic knowledge of how to function, their absolute loyalty to the Novel is also similarly genetically hardwired."
Shia raises a brow at that. "How is it that they are being used by the Novels and not you then?"
"The usage of human DNA to make them was very controversial to say the least. Despite their numbers, they are physically weak and are not resource efficient with their high numbers. Their lack of quality and too much quantity resulted in another project being greenlit instead, one to mass produce human-like robots that would be less resource intensive in the long run and easier to keep stored for when they are needed."

"Well, on the plus side, it appears the Miniknog or whoever else is none too friendly with these 'Novel' guys either. They sent a mercenary to disrupt their operations, or at least we think it was them." Eilumi comments.
"Also one more note about that cat thing." Khaun adds in quick. "It seemed unusually resistant to gunfire. Not immune, obviously, but resistant. I wonder if they have similar resistances to the IRON found here?"

"Has anyone ever managed to figure out the discrepancy with Pokémon powers and it's discrepancies?" Veera asks while they are on the topic.
"I take it that you must have abandoned using them altogether if you deem it underpowered like that." Mason says.
"Shooting most things gets the job done just fine really." Shia says with a shrug.
"Well, to answer your question...i can't say for sure what these creatures would be resistant to or vulnerable to. But if you are wondering about how only Iron created the current status quo when there are far more destructive things like fire breath or even Hyper Beam, it's that there is something that prevents Pokémon powers from inherently being lethal to pokémon, it is obvious enough considering that the same being applied to an Avali will almost certainly result in severe life-threatening bodily harm but to an Pokémon at worse they will faint. Furthermore, the Illuminati would rather we not go out of our way to test the full extend of this." He explains to them. "I do have some theories on what exactly might be the cause of this. But whenever we tried to go on about it Relaka and Renala just look at us like we are crazy."
The Luxray crosses his arms and raises a brow. "Eh? Why...? You people seem like you really know your stuff, why would they think that?"
The human just looks at him like he is not expecting Shia to react much differently to what he is about to say. "So the most credible theory is that the gods made it so Pokémon could not kill each other. However, Iron is not made by the gods. Sure...iron ore is a basic thing, but the process to forge it into a weapon seems to process it into something that is no longer bound to the rules set by the gods."
...Yeah Shia is staring at him like he thinks he is talking crazy alright. As soon as the man mentioned 'gods' the Luxray was more than skeptical about the rest of the theory he was presenting. "...Alright, yeah it does sound a bit hard to believe."
Veera seems just as doubtful about this explanation.

As does the rest of the pack. The only things they'd encountered on their travels that come even close to 'gods' were things that really had no business being worshiped as such. Or turned out to be complete Mooshishit. Usually the latter.

The man just inhales and exhales, it's clear that he can understand from their expression alone that they won't believe his words and there is really nothing he can do to convince them. "...For the sake the Illuminate's interest in this world, i hope they know what to do when nature itself takes notice." He said, ominously.
Spark meanwhile, decided to go check out something else while the pack is talking. Currently he is trying to fiddle with what he thinks is a vending machine there against the wall, pressing buttons and looking at an holographic display showing items such as snacks and candies. Every time he tries to press a button though there is just a red flash of light which he most certainly means he is not getting the results he wants. "...Hey, does this take pixels? Dazzling range of goods though! How do you fit food, drinks, medicine and weapons in this though?"
Mason walks over to him and crosses his arms. "...No, I'm afraid it's not set to accept your currency."
The Raichu expected this, but is still slightly disappointed. "...Can you get me something tasty from this?"
"...Fine." As blasé as he is about it the human decides to be kind enough and inserts 5 chips into the vending machine, makes a selection and presses a button. After some humming the vending machine drops out a box of potato crisps.
"Sweet!" The electric type happily picks it up, opens it and eats one of the chipped potato goodness. "Mmmm nice! How do you say this thing works again? It got quite a selection of goods for sale on this thing."
"It has a self-contained matter transformation device."
"Oh Cool, cool!" The human said that so casually that Spark almost glanced over the fact that this vending machine is essentially like a Pixel Printer? "Wait...what?"

"So basically it's a pixel printer but for food?" Khaun questions. "Huh. Usually they just print furniture and stuff."

This makes Spark have a burning question if these humans have such a tech level yet still remain only in their planet of origin. "How are you not a space-faring civilization yet?"
"That's for the Forefather to decide when to take that step. We follow his design."
Shia tilts his head a bit. "Your leader I assume? Also there is one more thing I should tell you, the Novel are planning to attack the Black Isle..."
"What?!" Instead of looking bored this time, Mason looks surprised...then angry. "And you didn't think of telling me this when you got here?"
He is slightly taken aback at how the man went from calm to angry with him so quickly. "What? They won't catch us by surprise or anything. We know they are coming so I bet they if they try coming by sea or by air the Black Isle has more than enough defenses to deal with it either way they try to come at it."
"That is because you assume they will come by sea or by air."
The Ghost Bear Pack's electric trio is still unsure what he means by this and Shia is frankly starting to get slightly annoyed with the human getting paranoid all of the sudden. "...Then? It's not like they could sidestep the Black Isle's defenses altogether right?"

"To be honest, we didn't get a good read on their plan. They were arming some sort of ship, but I think that was going to Amber." Khaun explains. "Speaking of, it would appear as if they're going to try a diversionary technique, hoping to bait us into over defending Amber while leaving Black Isle vulnerable."

"Eerrm...that still does not put my at easy."
Shia shrugs. "I don't blame you, but the whole Black Isle is on high alert. don't think we would get caught with our pants down now, i can promise you that."
"Hhrrm...Right then." Mason still sounds unsure about that, but only time will tell if he is properly paranoid or not. "One last thing since we are going to be getting more...involved on count of the Novel anyways, i need you to tell me this. Are you the best that the Illuminate got?"
Spark bites on another potato crisp before responding a little awkwardly. "I mean...we are a bit famous as far as i know, but the best in the Illuminate? Thaaat's probably a pretty bold claim to go and make. But i'm gonna wager that we are the best pack in this side of the fringe." He looks to the others. "Right guys? Why are you asking this out of the blue anyways?"
"Because I am to authorize you to make use of some of our new support tools. Air support, artillery support, support weapons and some equipment requisition. Such things are only allowed to be used by those who we know will make efficient use of it."

"Oh dear. It almost sounds like we got ourselves into a war." Eilumi comments. "We haven't had that kind of support since the Occassus Wars."

"Yeah, that sounds like some pretty big deal. Stuff like this is very expensive too...so who's paying for it?" Shia asks as such a big support sounds too good to be true, wonders if there are some strings attached.
"We got a delivery system that we think should make things easier, but such a thing has it's costs, yeah. But it is being paid by someone else, one of our own who was here before we were, the first one of us to be here you can say..."
This got the electric-type thinking a little bit. The first one of them that was here? Is he talking about Joshua? "Any chance we could talk with this person sometime...?"
"At the moment, no, he is busy securing favors to keep our support for you as strong as steady as we having it be right now. But he is on this world currently, somewhere." Mason said before snapping his fingers and gesturing one of these nearby Pokémon to come over, it's a Gardevoir, she brings over a disc to him.
Image
Spark watches as she...at least he thinks that mon' is a she, silently comes over and goes away just like that. It's kind of unsettling. "What is up with them? Why are they so...glowy and stuff?" ...No way those are holograms, are they? That one was solid enough to hold something in their hand.
"Usually they are more talkative and responsive, but right now we don't have the computing power present here to have the luxury of having them working consistently beyond the bare essentials." Mason explains. "They are simply constructs, nothing much."
"A-as in, they are holograms?" Veera asks as she looks at these 'constructs.'
"Yes, they are." He motions up to the bright 'lights' on the ceiling. "See those? It's what's providing them with what they need to project themselves in this room." He sounds ever so slightly annoyed that they took him away from the topic he was previously on. "Now, as a show of things to come, I shall give you a 'weapon', for Pokémon. It's something a little heavy so I would advise some discipline using it and the destructive potential it has..." And with that he hands the disc over to Shia.
He takes it and looks it over, it says 'TM163'. "Ah, so it's like, data to make a weapon huh? I'm not sure if we have anything that uses these, disc things like this are extremely outdated, you know?"
"No, it doesn't work like that. This will teach you how to harness new power. Don't insert it into anything, it could damage it."
That is...a bit confusing. What is he supposed to do? read' this compact disc? "What...?"

Needless to say, Eilumi and the rest are just as lost as Shia is. Nine was going to volunteer to 'read' it but Mason's instruction not to shut that suggestion down before he even got the chance to suggest it.

With an annoyed sigh, Shia stares at the disc in his hand palm wondering what he is supposed to do with it to use it in any form. But the more he stared...the more he noticed something, so he brought it closer to his vision while narrowing his eyes. They scan along the surface of the disk like he is indeed reading something on it. "Wait...i think i got it." Then, the disk cracks in his hands for apparently no reason, surprising the Luxray. He looks to Mason and holds up the now-damaged item. "I didn't break it! It just cracked on its own, I swear!"
The human doesn't look all that bothered by it though, he simply nods. "Yes, it is single use, for safety reasons..."
So, he used it? Thinking about it, Shia does sense something different about himself, like he knows something new now, something quite potent. "It felt odd, like something was being put in my mind. That's how this works? Transferring whatever was in this into my head?"
"Essentially. You should now be able to use Hyper Beam. I know you prefer your guns rather than your abilities as a Pokémon, but I'm sure that the power you just learned will help you. If you do wish to try it out in doors, there is the range...i had one of our engineers make the walls there stronger in preparation for something like this." He crosses his arms. "Now if that will be all, I need to anticipate how Novel will strike, try to locate possible vulnerabilities in the Black Isle..."
Shia sighs. "Alright I guess..." Then he turns to the others. "So I suppose it's worth trying out this Hyper Beam thing while we are still here. Should we go to the range?"

"Yeah, definitely," Khaun replies.
"I'm curious to see this hyper beam stuff in action myself." Eilumi also replies.
"I've heard of it, but never seen one." Loona says too. "I'd definitely like to see."

Just as they leave the room, they come across Renala who seemed to be going where they just left, she takes the time to talk with them. "Pardon but...you have not forgotten to report anything from your last mission, have you?"
Some amongst the pack are confused at this question, Veera decides to ask about it. "No...? I do believe we left nothing out of it. Why, what happened?"
"Well, something...overseen just happened then. The movement of a pirate fleet towards Anchorn was to be expected, the Novel's island moving not so much...the fact that it isn't part of the archipelago and instead is the shell of a gigantic sea creature was even more unexpected." She explained to them,
So the info certainly came as a surprise. "Wait...what?" Spark asked again.
"I know, I can hardly believe it as well but it would appear that the Novel's base is located on top of the shell of a turtle-like creature. As soon as it began moving unusually we sent some scout drones to follow its movements underwater and that's when we noticed that it was no mere island. I must consult with the humans if Pokémon can indeed get that large..."

It certainly didn't feel like they were on a creature when they fought on it. It felt as sandy and normal as any other beach....

"We had no idea that 'island' was that. It really felt like just another island to us..." Veera says to the Avali.
"I see. You don't need to worry about me not trusting you, a pack of your reputation inherent trust. The enemy is just a tricky one." Renala shrugs. "The Pirate fleet's movement is slow, we suspect that their new hardware is making their vessels heavier. So we got leeway to work with. If something else happens I will let you know." She politely excuses herself and walks past them to go into the room they just went out of.
With that, the Ghost Bear Pack are free to move again, so they continue on their way to the firing range on a floor just above the one they are right now. Arriving there they are greeted with a wide space with firing lanes with holographic targets, the sound of weapons fire is audible but in here it's nothing really unusual as they aren't the only ones here with the intent of using this facility.
Shia approaches one of firing lanes, looking at the holographic target and the big, reinforced wall behind it to prevent projectiles from overpenetration and causing any unnecessary damages. "Okay...Hyper Beam huh?" This might be the one time he can say that he is using a firing range without a firearm. "Alright, let me see how I'm gonna do this. He told me to be careful with this after all." He breathes and starts cupping his paws together.
Spark snickers slightly as he watches the Luxray's stance, with his legs slightly spread and his paws together like that, like he is trying to perform some sort of cheesy martial art thing.

The rest of the pack watches in anticipation of the Luxray in front of them, and the move he will perform. Will this move live up to the hype that these humans build up for it? Or will it simply be a wet fart? Only the upcoming demonstration will tell them.

Shia begins building up power between his paws, forming what looks like a ball of white energy between them. Though he did not expect how it would build up so much power so fast, as it grows pretty quickly and he feels like he is having trouble keeping all that energy together as his arms tremble. "F-Fuck...!" For a lack of better words it feels like he is holding an explosion in his paws and trying to keep it all contained in a single point, and if he doesn't do anything with it it might actually explode on him. Everyone around him was watching what was going on in concern, some of the others in the firing range besides the Ghost Bears stopped what they were doing when they felt a sensation in the air that was like an engine running.
...Shia really really hopes that the reinforced wall can take this. He launches the attack forward, energy shooting ahead of him as a large white beam not unlike something fired out of a laser cannon. If the holographic target down could think it would probably be happy it was intangible, for the reinforced wall behind it almost wasn't able to handle the sheer impact and resulting explosion that shook the whole room. The Luxray stood there in awe, everyone else present that witnessed certainly was too. Then he felt his body starting to give up on him all of the sudden, it's like a sudden wave of tiredness that takes over him and before he realizes Shia falls to his knees.

Everyone else was struck in sure awe at what had just unfolded. The two avali blinked, almost unable to process what they had just witnessed: their luxray partner shooting out a beam the size of something typically found on medium-large space vessels.
When Shia collapsed to his knees, Loona was the one to run to his side and hug him.
"Woah Shia!" She shouted. "You alright?!"

Shia tries to stand but his body isn't responding, but he doesn't feel pain or anything of the sort, just overwhelmingly lethargic. "My body feels so heavy...urgh..." Shia grumbles as he tries to get his legs moving again, but they don't feel like they support their weight.
Veera also comes over, just as worried. "Are you feeling anything wrong...?!" She gets under his shoulder and helps him up.
And this sort of works as he gets back up on his feet with her help, and steadily he feels his strength returning to him. "Oooh, okay i think i can move, Veera, let go please?" He stumbles to the side a bit as he regains his footing. "Okay..."
Spark meanwhile looks over at the damage that the Hyper Beam caused to the wall, It sure looked like Shia shot it with something a medium-sized vessel would have. "Holy shit...that guy really wasn't kidding! It's like you have a laser Bazooka on your hands!" He is just as impressed...and glad that wall held as well as it did too. Perhaps it would be better NOT to test a second shot with it though, he isn't sure if it can take anymore.
Elsewhere on the Black Isle...
In the command center some of the other authority figures were watching what was going on the cameras, they all had eyes on the firing range as they were promised that they were about to see something awesome...and they got to witness the power of the hyper beam first hand. Behind all of Avali watching the display of power on screen is a Pokémon, humanoid in stature, with a body that resembles a white flowing gown. Gardervoir calmly speaks after she sees that everyone had enough time to process what they just saw. "With that demonstration out of the way, surely you now see more potential and importance in what Pokémon can do, right? There is so much more. So, how about we start talking about some contracts to help you more easily integrate pokémon and their capabilities into your ranks?"", "pools_count": 1, "title": "Stars of Iron P13A2: A Black Debriefing", "deleted": "f", "public": "t", "mimetype": "text/rtf", "pagecount": "1", "rating_id": "2", "rating_name": "Adult", "ratings": [ { "content_tag_id": "4", "name": "Sexual Themes", "description": "Erotic imagery, sexual activity or arousal", "rating_id": "2" }, { "content_tag_id": "5", "name": "Strong Violence", "description": "Strong violence, blood, serious injury or death", "rating_id": "2" } ], "submission_type_id": "12", "type_name": "Writing - Document", "guest_block": "t", "friends_only": "f", "comments_count": "0", "views": "91" }